Pokémon Sword Any% F.A.Q.

Pokémon Sword Any% F.A.Q.

Q: What are you trying to do?
A: I am trying to complete Pokémon Sword as fast as possible

Q: What is your best time?
A: My best time is 4:12:27

Q: What is the World Record?
A: The World Record time is 4:04:13 by ringo777

Q: That's not you!
A: I know :(

Q: Where can you save time?
A: You can see a split-by-split breakdown of my PB vs WR here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GrUgtXjImyBjbrBt9Y0i2JcpGOtMAEfKF3cfSGy5fg0/edit?usp=sharing

Q: What Pokémon do you use in the run?
A: I start with Sobble, which I use until it evolves into Drizzile and then Inteleon. We then use Eternatus after we catch it for the final fight

Q: Can you do this run on Shield!?
A: You can! Currently it is combined with Sword on the leaderboards, however that may change in the future. I have a PB of 4:15:00 in Shield

Q: Which game is faster?
A: Currently, Sword is faster

Q: What are the differences between the two games for the speedrun?
A: The route is completely different. Sword uses Sobble/Drizzile/Inteleon for the entire game, however Shield uses Scorbunny, Arcanine, and Excadrill. This is mainly because of a few things:
- The 4th and 6th Gyms are different between the two games, with Sword getting Fighting/Rock while Shield gets Ghost/Ice. This brings a lot of factors to the surface:
	- The Ghost Gym has a trainer with 3 Grass types, which Sobble struggles with
	- The Ice Gym Leader has a Lapras that Sobble struggles with
	- The Fighting Gym Leader rematch leads a Hawlucha that Excadrill struggles with
- Growlithe (and a Fire Stone) is available early in Shield, but is locked behind at least 2 Gyms in Sword

Q: What are those numbers at the bottom of the screen?
A: Those are Sobble's IVs. As I see Sobble's stats during level ups, I will input them into an IV Calculator. This will output the possible IV Ranges and let me (and you) know how good my Sobble is. The IV Calculator was made by https://www.twitch.tv/wartab and you can find it here: http://vincent.lycoops.be/iv-calculator.html

Q: Is sub 4 possible?
A: Not with the current route, no

Q: What is your goal time?
A: Currently, I want a 4:09:xx or better. Once I get that time, I'll decide if I like the run enough to push it lower